Writing tool



July 26, 1966 H. BROSS 3,262,426

WRITING TOOL Filed April 20, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HELMUT BR055 WWW W July 26, 1966 H. BROSS 3,262,426

WRITING TOOL Filed April 20, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HELMUT BRUSS MMMW July 26, 1966 BRoss 3,262,426

WRITING TOOL Filed April 20, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR HE L NUT BROSS BYMVMW WWW United States Patent 3,262,426 WRITING TOOL Helmut Bross, Altenberg, Germany, assignor to Gebruder Schmidt, St. Georgen, Black Forest, Germany Filed Apr. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 449,476 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 23, 1964, B 76,464; Feb. 10, 1965, R 80,448 12 Claims. (Cl. 12042.l3)

The present invention relates to a writing tool which comprises a casing in which several lead or ink carriers,

preferably ball-point refills of different colors, are slidable in the axial direction, and a mechanism for selecting any one of these carriers and for advancing the same through the front opening of the casing to the writing position and for retracting it into the casing when no longer needed, and in which this mechanism comprises an actuating member which is adapted to be manually depressed for moving any one of the carriers forwardly, a plurality of slide members which are associated with the different lead or ink carriers and one or another of which may be selectively moved by the actuating member to advance the respective lead or ink carrier to the writing position, and resettingsprings for retracting the actuating member and the slide members to their neutral positions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting mechanism for such a writing tool which is of a more simple construction and may be more easily operated than the selecting mechanisms of similar writing tools according to prior designs.

For attaining this object, the present invention provides a special connecting element between the actuating member and the slide members which element may, preferably under the action of gravity, be displaced in a direction transverse to the axis of the casing of the writing tool and is adapted to be moved by the actuating member into engagement with a bearing surface on one end of the particular slide member which is connected to the desired lead or ink carrier which is to be advanced to its writing position.

According to one preferred feature of the invention, the mentioned bearing surfaces of the slide members comprise a central bearing surface which is preferably of a circular shape, and at least one annular bearing surface surrounding this central surface which may also be divided so as to form two or more bearing surfaces for different slide members.

The mechanism according to the invention permits any one of the lead or ink carriers which may be desired for writing to be very easily selected by merely holding the writing tool in a certain position. The connecting element which under the action of its gravity may be shifted transversely to the axis of the casing may |according to the invention be provided, for example, in the form of a pendulum rod or a ball.

If the bearing surfaces of more than two slide members of a writing too-l according to the invention consist of several angular surfaces which are arranged concentrically around each other, the outermost bearing surface within the casing may be prevented from being acted upon by the actuating member by providing within the area between the bearing surfaces and the actuating member an element which normally prevents the connecting element from being shifted toward this outermost bearing surface and which is movable under its own gravity in the axial direction when the writing tool is reversed so as then to permit 3,262,426 Patented July 26, 1966 the connecting element to be moved into engagement with this bearing surface.

These and further features and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 shows a longitudinal section of a ball-point pen according to the invention which is provided with three refills, one of which, which is connected to the slide member carrying the central bearing surface, is moved to its writing position, and in which the connecting element is provided in the form of a pendulum rod;

FIGURE 2 shows a longitudinal section of the upper part of a writing tool according to a modification of the invention which is provided with two lead or ink carriers and in which the connecting element consists of a ball;

FIGURE 3 shows a longitudinal section of another modification of the invention, in which the connecting element consists of a rod which is rigidly connected to the actuating member;

FIGURE 4 shows a diagrammatic illustration of the essential parts of the selecting mechanism according to the invention for a writing tool with four lead or ink carriers;

FIGURE 5 shows a view similar to FIGURE 1 and of the same ball-point pen as shown therein, in which all refills are in the retracted position;

FIGURE 6 shows a cross section which is taken along the line VI-VI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 shows a cross section which is taken the line VIIVII of FIGURE 5;

along FIGURE 8 shows another view of the same ball-point pen as shown in FIGURE 1, in which that refill is advanced to the writing position which is connected to the slide member carrying the intermediate bearing surface adjacent to the central bearing surface;

FIGURE 9 shows another view of the ball-point pen according to FIGURE 1, in which that refill is advanced to the writing position which is connected to the slide member which is provided with the outermost bearing surface; while FIGURE 10 shows a longitudinal section of the upper part of a writing tool according to the invention which differs from the upper part of the ball-point pen according to FIGURES l and 5 to 9 merely by the provision of a different guide element for the connecting rod.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals, the present invention will first be described with particular reference to the ball-point pen as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 5 to 9.

The casing of this ball-point pen consists of two tubular parts 1 and 2 which are connected by a sleeve 3 which is inserted in the casing part 1 and the threaded end of which is screwed into the adjacent ends of both parts 1 and 2. The upper casing part 1 contains an actuating member in the form of a plungerlike pressure pin 4 which projects to the outside through the open upper end of the casing past 1 and is axially slidable within this part under or against the action of a compression spring 5, the lower end of which engages upon a shoulder 3' in sleeve 3, while its upper end acts upon the pressure pin 4. Sleeve 3 also forms a part of the locking mechanism within the casing which is adapted to arrest the pressure pin 4 in the depressed and retracted positions. When the pressure pin 4 is depressed, one of the ball-point refills 6, 7, or 8 is advanced to and then locked in the writing position, while when the pressure pin 4 is retracted, all refills are in the retracted position within the casing part 2 (FIG- URE 5). Although the means for arresting the pressure pin 4 in the depressed and retracted positions are illustrated in the drawings in the form of a so-called ball locking mechanism, any other suitable means may be provided for this purpose. This locking mechanism consists of a heart-shaped cam groove 9 in the outer surface of the wall of the pressure pin 4, of an annular groove 10 which is provided between the rear end of sleeve 3 and an inner shoulder 1' in the casing part 1, and a ball 11 which engages partly into the cam groove 9 and partly into the annular groove 10. When the pressure pin 4 is depressed, ball 11 will slide along the cam groove 9 until it is arrested in the position as shown, for example, in FIGURE 1, which corresponds to the writing position of the central refill 7. When the pressure pin 4 is again depressed, ball 11 will be lifted out of this position and travel along the cam groove 9 to the opposite end thereof to the position, as shown in FIGURE 5, in which all refills 6, 7, and 8 are retracted into the casing part 2. Since this locking mechanism is of a conventional type, it needs no further description.

Within the lower end of the pressure pin 4 a pendulum rod 12 is suspended which forms the connecting member between the pressure pin 4 and the slide members 13, 14 and 15 for the ball-point refills 6, 7, and 8 as will be later described in detail. For suspending the pendulum rod 12 on the pressure pin 4, the rod 12 is provided on its upper end with a head 12', the lower flat surface 12" of which rests on a seat surrounding a bore 16' which is provided in the bottom of a cup-shaped insert 16 which is secured within a recess 17 in the lower part of the pressure pin 4 and abuts against an inwardly projecting shoulder 4' in the pressure pin 4. The pendulum rod 12 extends downwardly through the bore 16 in the insert 16. The upper part of the recess 17 in the pressure pin 4 above the insert 16 and above the head 12' of rod 12 contains a weight 18 which is slidable in the axial direction under the action of its gravity and acts upon the head 12 when the casing 1, 2 is held in a vertical position in which its tip points downwardly. When in this position, as shown in FIGURE 5, the weight 18 pressing upon the head 12' of the pendulum rod 12 and thereby pressing its flat lower surface 12"" upon the flat seat around the edge of the bore 16' tends to maintain the rod 12 in the central position in which its lower end is in vertical alignment with the bearing surface 15' of the central slide member 15, as will be further described in detail in connection with the description of the operation of this ball-point pen.

'The pendulum rod 12 carries on its lower part 12" an annular guide disc 19 which is slidable thereon in the axial direction and is prevented by a projection 12" on the lower end of pin 12 from sliding off the latter when the pressure pin 4 and thus also rod 12 are in the retracted position, as shown in FIGURE 5. This guide disk 19 has such an outer diameter that, when the tip of the pen points downwardly and the pressure 4 is retracted and rod 12 is then pivoted as far as possible toward one side, disk 19 will engage with the inner surface of sleeve 3 so that the lower end of rod 12 will be disposed above the bearing surface 14' of slide member 14. Thus, when the pressure pin 4 is then depressed, rod 12 cannot possibly act upon the outermost bearing surface 13 of slide member 13, but only upon the bearing surface 14' of slide member 14 (FIGURE 8).

FIGURE 10 shows a writing tool of the same construction as previously described, except that the guide disk 19 according to FIGURES l, 5, 8, and 9 is replaced by a larger guide ring 31 which is slidable axially along the inner surface of sleeve 3 and ha an inner diameter corresponding to that of the outermost bearing surface 13' of slide member 13. Consequently, when the pressure pin 4 is retracted and the tip of the casing points downwardly, the guide ring 31 covers up the outer bearing surface 13 of slide member 13 and prevents the pendulum rod 12 from pivoting outwardly further than to a point above the bearing surface 14' of slide member 14.

As already indicated, the slide members 13, 14, and 15 of the ball-point pen according to FIGURES 1 and 5 to 10 are provided at their upper ends with heads, the upper sides of which form bearing surfaces 13', 14, and 15', respectively, upon either of which the tip of the pendulum rod 12 is adapted to engage when this pin is pivoted to the required angle. As shown particularly in FIGURE 7, these heads and bearing surfaces are disposed concentrically to each other and the two bearing surfaces 13' and 14 are of an annular shape, while the central bearing surface 15' is of a circular shape.

The main bodies of the three slide members underneath these heads consist of parallel elongated parts 13", 14", and 15". As shown particularly in FIGURE 6, the parts 13" and 14" have an arcuate cross section, while the central part 15" has a cylindrical shape. For guiding the individual slide members 12, 13, and 14, sleeve 3 is provided with a bottom wall 3" in which apertures 23, 24, and 25 are provided which have substantially the same size and shape and the same arrangement relative to each other as the parts 13", 14", and 15" of slide members 13, 14, and 15. Each of these parts is surrounded by a resetting spring 20, 21, or 22. These springs extend concentrically to each other and act with their upper ends against the likewise concentric heads forming the bearing surfaces 13', 14, and 15', while the lower ends of these springs act upon the bottom wall 3" of sleeve 3.

The lower end of each slide member 13, 14, and 15 is pivotably connected to a clamping member 26, 27, or 28 into which the upper end of one of the ball-point refills 6, 7, or 8 is inserted so as to be tightly clamped therein. The upper ends of the clamping members 26 and 27 also form stop surfaces 29 and 30 which, when the slide members 13 and 15 are retracted by their springs 20 and 22, engage against the lower side of the bottom wall 3" of sleeve 3. The third slide member 14 is provided on its lower end with an angular extension 14' which also serves as a stop member like the stop surfaces 29 and 30 to limit the extent of the retracting movement of this slide member under the action of its spring 21. The clamping member 28 is pivotably connected to the end of the angular extension 14".

The manner of operation of the ball-point pen according to FIGURES 1 and 5 to 9 is as follows:

When the pen is in the position according to FIGURE 5 and is held substantially vertically with its tip pointing downwardly and the pressure pin 4 is then depressed, the lower end of the connecting rod 12 is pressed against the central bearing surface 15 of the slide member 15 which is then likewise pushed against the action of its retracting spring 22 in the direction toward the top of the casing and is guided during this movement within the aperture 24 in the bottom wall 3" of sleeve 3. When the pressure pin 4 is fully depressed, it will be arrested in its lowest position by the ball locking mechanism as above described so that the refill 7 which is connected to the slide member 15 by the clamping member 27 will be likewise arrested in the advanced writing position as shown in FIGURE 1. For retracting the refill 7 from this position, a pressure is once more exerted upon the pressure pin 4, whereby the locking mechanism will be released so that the pressure pin will be moved by the compression spring 5 back to its retracted position.

When the head 12' of the pendulum rod 12 is once pressed by the weight 18 evenly upon its seat around the bore 16' and rod 12 is thereby held in its central position within the casing, rod 12 will remain in this central position even though the pen is held in a position which deviates slightly from the vertical position so that, when will still engage upon the bearing surface 15' of the central slide member 15. During the further movement of the pressure pin 4 into the casing, the presence of the guide disk 19 on rod 12 will not interfere with the free movement of this rod since disk 19 is easily slidable along it.

If the ball-point pen is in the position as shown in FIGURE 5 with its tip pointing downwardly and it is then inclined toward one side from the vertical direction, the pendulum rod 12 will also pivot toward the same side until the guide disk 19 on the lower end 12 of rod 12 abuts against the wall of sleeve 3. If in this inclined position the pressure pin 4 is then depressed, the tip of the pendulum rod 12 will engage upon the bearing surface 14 of slide member 14 to which the refill 8 is connected. The pressure which is exerted upon the pressure pin 4 is thus transmitted by the connecting rod 12 to the slide member 14 which then moves the refill 8 forwardly to its writing position, as shown in FIGURE 8. For retracting the refill 8 into the casing, the pressure pin 4 must again be depressed.

If the refill 6 is to be moved from its retracted position according to FIGURE 5 to its writing position as shown in FIGURE 9, it is necessary to pivot the pendulum rod 12 to such an angle that its tip will be located in alignment with the bearing surface 13 of slide member 13. The ball-point pen is for this purpose turned upside down from the position as shown in FIGURE 5 so that its tip points upwardly, whereupon the guide disk 19 will slide along the pendulum rod 12 toward its head 12. When the pen is then inclined toward one side, rod 12 will pivot toward the wall of sleeve 3 so that the tip of this rod will be in alignment with the bearing surface 13 of slide member 13. If the pressure pin 4 is then depressed, rod 12 will press upon the bearing surface 13' and thereby push the slide member 13 together with the refill 6 forwardly until the latter arrives in its writing position, as shown in FIGURE 9, in which it will then be held by the locking mechanism as'previously described. After the pressure pin 4 has been sutficiently depressed so that the pendulum rod 12 presses upon the slide member 13, the entire pen may, if desired, again be turned over so that its tip point-s downwardly, whereupon the pressure pin 4 may be further depressed to push the refill 6 forwardly to its writing position without danger that the pendulum rod might slide off the bearing surface 13' of slide member 13. For again retracting the refill 6 from the position according to FIGURE 9 into the casing to the position as shown in FIGURE 5, the pressure pin 4 is again depressed so that the locking mechanism is released.

As already mentioned, the individual slide members 13, 14-, and 15 are retracted to their original position as shown in FIGURE 5 by the action of their resetting springs 20, 21, and 22. This retracting movement of each slide member is limited by the engagement of its stop surface 29, 30, or 14" with the bottom wall of sleeve 3.

The operation of the writing tool according to FIG- URE 10 occurs in a similar manner as above described. Since the guide ring 31 covers up the bearing surface 13 of slide member 13 when the top of the writing tool points downwardly, the tip of the pendulum rod 12 can only be moved into engagement either with the bearing surface 14' of slide member 14 or with the bearing surface 15 of the central slide member 15, depending upon whether the writing tool is held in an inclined position or in a substantially vertical position. If the writing tool is turned upside down so that its tip points upwardly, the guide ring 31 will slide downwardly along the wall of sleeve 3 so that, when the writing tool is then inclined toward one side, the pendulum rod 12 can pivot freely toward the wall of sleeve 3 so that its tip will be in alignment with the bearing surface 13 of slide member 13.

When the pressure pin 4 is then depressed, the refill 6 or other lead or ink carrier on slide member 13 will be moved to its writing position.

FIGURE 4 illustrates diagrammatically the different positions to which the pendulum rod 12" of a writing tool with four lead or ink carriers and a corresponding number of slide members and bearing surfaces is to be pivoted for moving one or the other of these carriers to its writing position. The central bearing surface 15' of the central slide member is in this case surrounded by a ring which is divided into two semicircular bearing surfaces 14a and 1412 which, in turn, are surrounded by an annular bearing surface 13', so that four bearing surfaces are thus formed. For selecting one or another of the four lead or ink carriers to permit the same to be shifted to its writing position, the writing tool with'its tip pointing downwardly is either held in a substantially vertical position, or in a position in which it is inclined either toward one side or the opposite side from this vertical position, or it is turned upside down so that its tip points upwardly and the guide disk or guide ring can then slide toward the head of the pendulum rod, whereupon it is inclined toward one side so that the tip of the pendulum rod will then be in alignment with the outer bearing surface 13'.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a modification of the writing tools as previously described. This writing tool is provided with only two lead or ink carriers 6 and 7, for example, ball-point refills, and with a connecting member between the pressure pin 4 and the slide members 14 and 15 in the form of a ball 32. When the carriers 6 and 7 are in the retracted position, this ball 32 is freely movable within an area 33 between the end surfaces of a rod-shaped extension 34 and a cylindrical extension 35 of pressure pin 4 and the annular bearing surfaces 14' and 15 of the slide members 14 and 15. These slide members are of a tubular shape so as to form chambers 36 and 37 therein. Ball 32 has such a large diameter that it cannot drop into these chambers 36' and 37. The retracting spring 5 for the pressure pin 4 is inserted into the inner chamber 37 so that its lower end acts upon the bottom of slide member 15, while its upper end acts upon a shoulder 38 on a pin 38 which is secured to the end of the extension 34.

If the writing tool according to FIGURE 2 is turned to an inclined position, ball 32 will roll toward and settle on the bearing surface 14 which is beveled toward the' inside. When the pressure pin is then depressed, the end surface of the extension 35 of the pressure pin which is likewise beveled engages upon the ball 32, whereby the slide member 14 is pushed downwardly against the action of the compression spring 21 and the refill 6 thereon is moved to its writing position in which its tip projects from the tip of the casing. During this movement, the other slide member 15 is not actuated since the extension34 of the pressure pin can slide freely into the chamber 37 of slide member 15.

If the writing tool according to FIGURE 2 is held in a vertical position, ball 32 will be located in the position as indicated in dotted lines, in which it rests on the inwardly beveled bearing surface 15'. When the pressure pin 4 is depressed, the inner edge of the end surface of the extension 35 presses against the ball 32 and thereby pushes the slide member 15 downwardly against the action of spring 22 so that the refill 7 thereon will be moved to its writing position in which its ballpoint projects from the top of the casing. Since during this movement the outer peripheral surface of the extension 35 can slide along the outer wall of chamber 36, the other slide member 14 will not be affected by this movement.

According to the further modification of the invention, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, the pressure pin 4 will not be connected to the slide members by means of a separate connecting element which may be pivoted by gravl ity in a direction transverse to the axis of the casing, but by means of a rod 39 which is rigidly secured to the pressure pin 4 which, however, is laterally pivotable within the rear opening 40 of the casing. The lower end of pressure pin 4 is provided with a flange 41 which is acted upon by the upper end of the retracting spring 5. Depending upon whether the pressure is exerted upon the pressure pin 4 substantially in the axial direction of the casing or in a direction at an angle thereto, the lower end of the connecting rod 39 will act either upon the central bearing surface of one slide member or upon the bearing surface of another slide member which is laterally spaced from the axis of the casing.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, it is also possible to employ a different kind of actuating member, for example, a pressure cap, in place of the plungerlike pressure pin 4 as described and illustrated.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a writing tool having a casing with an opening in the tip thereof, a plurality of lead or ink carriers axially slidable within said casing, first means for selecting any one of said carriers and for advancing the same from a retracted position within said casing to its writing position in which its writing tip projects through said tip opening of said casing and for returning it to said retracted position, and second means for arresting said carriers in said Writing position, said first means comprising an actuating member within the rear end of said casing and partly projecting therefrom, a plurality of slide members axially slidable within said casing, each of said slide members having a bearing surface on one end, means on the other end of each slide member for connecting the same to one of said carriers, one of said bearing surfaces being centrally disposed substantially within the axis of said casing, and at least one other of said bearing surfaces at least partly surrounding said central bearing surface, a connecting element between said actuating member and said bearing surfaces, said connecting element being movable by its gravity in a direction transverse to the axis of said casing into selective alignment with any one of said bearing surfaces when said actuating member and said slide members are in their retracted positions so that, when said actuating member is then depressed, said connecting element will act upon the selected bearing surface and thereby move the same with its slide member and the carrier thereon to the writing position, and spring means for moving said actuating member and said slide members back to their retracted positions.

2. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said central bearing surface has a circular shape and is surrounded by at least said one other bearing surface having an annular shape.

3. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said central bearing surface has a circular shape and is surrounded by a plurality of other bearing surfaces each having an annular shape, all of said bearing surfaces being disposed concentrically to each other.

4. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said central bearing surface has a circular shape, and at least one annular member surrounding said central bearing surface concentrically thereto, said annular member being radially divided into several parts each forming a bearing surface on a separate slide member.

5. A writing tool as defined in claim 3, further comprising a guide element within and slidable substantially in the axial direction of said casing and adapted, when said casing is held in a position in which the tip thereof points downwardly and said casing is inclined to the perpendicular, to prevent said connecting element from moving to a position above the outermost of said bearing surfaces, said guide element further adapted, when said casing is turned so that its tip points upwardly, to slide by gravity within said casing toward said actuating member and thereby to permit said connecting element, when said casing is inclined to the perpendicular, to be moved by its gravity to a position underneath said outermost bearing surface so that, when said actuating member is then depressed in this position of said casing, said connecting element will engage with said outermost bearing surface and move the associated slide member and the carrier thereon to the writing position.

6. A writing tool as defined in claim 5, in which said guide element consists of a tubular member slidable along the inner wall surface of said casing and adapted to cover up said outermost bearing surface but to leave the. other bearing surfaces uncovered thereby when said casing is held in a position in which its tip points downwardly.

7. A Writing tool as defined in claim 5, in which said connecting element consists of a pendulum rod suspended at one end on said actuating member within said casing, said guide element having an annular shape'with a central aperture therein of such a diameter that said guide element is axially slidable on and guided by said rod, said guide element having such an outer diameter that, when said actuating member is retracted and the tip of said casing points downwardly and said casing is inclined to the perpendicular, the outer wall of said guide element engages upon the inner wall surface of said casing closely above said outermost bearing surface and said guide element thereby prevents the tip of said rod from being located above said outermost bearing surface.

8. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said connecting element consists of a pendulum rod having a head at one end thereof, a seat member for said head within said casing, said actuating member having a recess therein with the opening thereof facing said head, and a weight m'ember axially movable within said recess and, when the tip of said casing points downwardly and said actuating member is retracted, pressing said head upon said seat member, said weight member having such a weight as to maintain said rod suspended in the axial direction of said casing as long as said casing is held in a perpendicular position and also until said casing is inclined to a certain angle relative to said perpendicular position.

9. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said actuating member has a tubular projection on its inner end, said connecting element consisting of a ball which, when said slide members and said actuating member are in their retracted positions, is freely movable transversely to the axis of said casing within an area between said bearing surfaces and the end of said projection, at least said one other bearing radially spaced from said central bearing surface so as to form an intermediate annular space, whereby when said casing is held in a substantially perpendicular position with its tip pointing downwardly, said ball rests on said central bearing surface and, when said casing is inclined to said perpendicular position, said ball rests on said other bearing surface, so that, when said actuating member is depressed, said projection presses said ball upon one or the other of said bearing surfaces and moves the same and its slide member and the carrier thereon to the writing position, while during this movement said projection passes into said annular space and slides along the wall of that slide member which is not acted upon and moved by said ball.

10. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, in which said connecting element consists of a rod rigidly connected to said actuating member, said actuating member being pivotally mounted within said casing, 'said spring means acting upon said actuating member so as normally to maintain said rod in a position coaxially to said casing, said actuating element together with said rod being pivotable to an inclined position relative to said axial position by the exertion of a lateral pressure upon the outwardly projecting end of said actuating member.

11. A writing tool as defined in claim 1, further comprising abutments rigidlyconnected to said casing, said 5 spring means acting upon the individual slide members and adapted to return the same to their retracted position act with their upper ends upon said slide members and with their lower ends upon said abutments.

12. A writing tool as defined in claim 11, in Which said abutments are formed by a partition within said casing and extending transverse to its longitudial axis, said partition having apertures of a size and shape substantially in accordance with the cross-sectional size and shape of the individual slide members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1964 Hofmann.

3/1965 Bross.

FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1952 France.

9/1963 Great Britain.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A WRITING TOOL HAVING A CASING WITH AN OPENING IN THE TIP THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF LEAD OR INK CARRIERS AXIALLY SLIDABLE WITHIN SAID CASING, FIRST MEANS FOR SELECTING ANY ONE OF SAID CARRIERS AND FOR ADVANCING THE SAME FROM A RETRACTED POSITION WITHIN SAID CASING TO ITS WRITING POSITION IN WHICH ITS WRITING TIP PROJECTS THROUGH SAID TIP OPENING OF SAID CASING AND FOR RETURING IT TO SAID RETRACTED POSITION, AND SECOND MEANS FOR ARRESTING SAID CARRIERS IN SAID WRITING POSITION, SAID FIRST MEANS COMPRISING AN ACTUATING MEMBER WITHIN THE REAR END OF SAID CASING AND PARTLY PROJECTING THEREFROM, A PLURALITY OF SLIDE MEMBERS AXIALLY SLIDABLE WITHIN SAID CASING, EACH OF SAID SLIDE MEMBERS HAVING A BEARING SURFACE ON ONE END, MEANS ON THE OTHER END OF SAID SLIDE MEMBERS FOR CONNECTING THE SAME TO ONE OF SAID CARRIERS, ONE OF SAID BEARING SURFACES BEING CENTRALLY DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY WITHIN THE AXIS OF SAID CASING, AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER OF SAID BEARING SURFACES AT LEAST PARTLY SURROUNDING SAID CENTRAL BEARING SURFACE, A CONNECTING ELEMENT BETWEEN SAID ACTUATING MEMBER AND SAID BEARING SURFACES, SAID CONNECTING ELEMENT BEING MOVABLE BY ITS GRAVITY IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF SAID CASING INTO SELECTIVE ALIGNMENT WITH ANY ONE OF SAID BEARING SURFACES WHEN SAID ACTUATING MEMBER AND SAID SLIDE MEMBERS ARE IN THEIR RETRACTED POSITIONS SO THAT, WHEN SAID ACTUATING MEMBER IS THEN DEPRESSED, SAID CONNECTING ELEMENT WILL ACT UPON THE SELECTED BEARING SURFACE AND THEREBY MOVE THE SAME WITH ITS SLIDE MEMBER AND THE CARRIER THEREON TO THE WRITING POSITION, AND SPRING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ACTUATING MEMBER AND AND SLIDE MEMBERS BACK TO THEIR RETRACTED POSITIONS. 